


GHOST (an Oliver Wood Fanfiction)

by aquila_corvinal



Category: Harry Potter - Fandom, Oliver Wood - Fandom
Genre: Alternate Universe - Harry Potter Setting, Fluff, Humor, Multi, Romance, Slow Burn, Slow Romance, Teen Romance, Top Harry Potter
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2021-02-12
Updated: 2021-02-12
Packaged: 2021-03-12 03:19:46
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 10
Words: 17,935
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29378400
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/aquila_corvinal/pseuds/aquila_corvinal
Summary: Originally published on Wattpad, GHOST is currently at 42,000 reads! Popular amongst Harry Potter fans, more particularly Oliver Wood fans!Summary:Oliver Wood was commonly known to be 3 things. Passionate, confident and extremely competitive.  Perhaps that is why Lara Lovegood found it so outrageously peculiar to find him in floods under the quidditch stands, with only 10 minutes till game on..."Every step of the way, GHOST has been brilliant"SLOW BURN AND LOTS OF FLUFFWattpad ratings:#1 in harrypotterimagines#1 in jamesphelps (jan '21)#1 in oliverphelps  (jan '21)#1 in seanbiggerstaff (jan '21)#3 in Kiernanshipka (jan'21)#4 in Weasley (jan '21)#9 in Draco (jan '21)#11 in HarryPotter  (jan '21)
Relationships: Oliver Wood/Original Female Character(s)
Kudos: 5





	1. PROLOGUE

Small sobs echoed off the cold walls of the desolate changing room. Well, not completely desolate. The captain of Gryffindor's quidditch team sat rigidly in the far corner of the room with his knees up to his chest and hands pulling at his auburn hair. He shook with a violent stream of anxiety flying through his veins like a snitch cutting through air.

The final play of the season started in- Oliver looked up to the clock on the wall- 10 minutes and if Gryffindor didn't win this game against Ravenclaw it would be game over for the quidditch-obsessed boy (or so he told himself). It was his first year as captain you see, and it would be an understatement to say that he had done everything in his power to get himself and his team this far in the competition, he couldn't lose all that now.

However, the Scottish boy's nerves had other ideas. Maybe it was his fear of bludgers? or growing pressure from the audience? But before every game it was as if a chain reaction of anxiety set off within him, like a wild, untamed forest fire that set his skin alight. Don't get him wrong, he adored the great sport with everything he had in him, but he cant help this unwelcome anxiety. It has always been there and he has a dreaded feeling it will never go away.

Oliver stared at the clock for a few more minutes, beginning to lose himself in the rhythmic beat of the clock's tick, tick, tick. When the crowd's booming cheers rolled into the changing room in waves, Oliver was ripped out of his daze. Heart still pounding but the crying had fortunately dimmed down. The Scot pushed himself up from the ground and he began to rush out of the room, broom in hand until someone came crashing into him from around the corner.

"ah- ow!" A girl's voice sounded from below the boy.

Oliver looked down in confusion at a Ravenclaw girl he didn't recognise and furrowed his eyebrows, instantly holding his hand out to help her up. The girl in question was too busy brushing off her robes and mumbling profanities to herself to be bothered by the kind gesture. Oliver cleared his throat and was finally met with the thinned blue eyes of the unknown girl, who only stared back and forth between his outstretched and hand and the boy's red, puffy eyes. Finally she placed her tiny hands in his as he pulled her up, eyes never leaving his, and his never leaving hers. Oliver cleared his throat to speak, simultaneously dropping his hand from her's as he forgot he was holding it.

"The Ravenclaw stands are on the other side of the pitch" He told her in a matter of a fact tone.

"Oh uh, I know. I was just looking for my- Have you been crying?" The white-haired girl interrupted herself, tilting her pale face to the left as she stared at the boy.

"Have I what?"

"Been crying." she repeated, with a certain sting to it, making him sound stupid.

Such a Ravenclaw, he thought as if the word itself were some sort of slur.

"Oh" Oliver tore his brown eyes from her blue and shuffled his feet awkwardly.

"Yeah"

"Why?" she stepped forward, curiousness laced in her thick English accent. This caused the boy to once again meet her intense gaze, it was as if she was trying to figure him out just by reading his face.

Who was this girl? And why does she ask so many questions? Oliver recounted to himself.

"Doesn't matter" Oliver dismissed, brushing a little too harshly past her shoulder and out of the changing room, towards the pitch.

"HEY!" The Ravenclaw called out to him, abruptly stopping him in his tracks. His eyes followed her every move as she went to catch up with him. Once she had, he raised his eyebrows in impatient expectation.

"It's okay to be nervous before a game, you just need to remember that all those people above you" she paused and pointed to the stands that they currently stood under. "Believe that you can win, even some of the Ravenclaws" she giggled, showing off two defined dimples on her rosy cheeks. The giggle sent a chill straight up Oliver's spine which he chose to ignore, however still listened intently to what she had to say.

"Tha-" Oliver began to thank the girl but was abruptly cut off.

"Oi! Wood! Get your ass in gear we've got a game in three minutes!" Fred Weasley popped up behind him as if by magic, scaring the life out of Oliver.

"Fu- don't do that!" The Scottish boy scolded, turning around to meet the taunting face of the mischievous ginger and slapping him round the head. Fred winced but brushed it off with a hearty laugh knowing it was all in good taste. He watched as Oliver turned back round, confusion defining his features at the empty space where the girl once was.

"Something wrong Wood? Looks like you've seen a ghost?" Fred questioned, patting Oliver on the back.

Had I seen a ghost? no, that's stupid of course she was real. But what was her name?

Oliver shook the questions off now that he and became aware that his thoughts had been completely torn away from quidditch and his nerves had dissipated into excitement.

Wow Oliver thought to himself I should really have a pretty girl with platinum hair around more often.

With a wide grin on his tan face, Oliver was ready to win this game. To win the house cup.

"Come on Weasley we've got a game to win!"


	2. Face Claims

GHOST ACT ONE presents to you... ( LARISSA 'LARA' LOVEGOOD ) played by kiernan shipka ( OLIVER WOOD ) played by he who must not be named ( ELLA OMERA ) played by amandla stenburg ( KIERAN KINGSTON ) played by cameron monaghan ( YASMIN JOHNSON ) played by banita sandhu ( ELIJAH EMERSON ) played by adam dimarco ( HARVEY WINDAM ) played by reece king ( ISAAC SMITH ) played by henrik holm ( LOUIS LOVEGOOD ) played by matthew daddario


	3. THE PLATFORM

Larissa Lovegood was what you would call a bright witch. A beautiful, bright witch. 

With sky blue eyes, short white hair and pale delicate features, she stood out in any and every crowd. Xenophilius - her father- would remind Larissa of this beauty every time he saw her by accidentally calling her by her mother's name, Pandora - At least Larissa thinks it's by accident. She was the spitting image of her mother. Unlike her older brother Louis who had raven black hair, tan skin and green eyes. 

When their mother died in a freak accident, Larissa was only in her 2nd year of Hogwarts (13 years old). As a result of her heart-breaking death, their father became too fragile to look after three kids at once and so the Lovegood family were split in two. Less than a year later, Larissa and Louis left their 9 year old sister Luna under the care of her father and moved in with their cousin Elijah Emerson- more commonly known as Puddlemere United's star chaser- to settle comfortably into a West London apartment. 

Surprisingly, quidditch runs in the Lovegood family. Not only was Elijah a worldwide quidditch champion but Louis was captain of the Ravenclaw quidditch team, their seeker in fact- and this year he had made it his goal to win back the house cup from Gryffindor. All summer he had been cooped up in his room, revising plays and fantasising over smashing Wood's face in with a heavy bludger. 

Just like he was now, pacing the kitchen and bitching about the one and only 'waste of space': Oliver Wood.

"He's not that bad, you know?" Larissa defended him with a mouth full of coco pops. 

"Not that bad? How do you know what he's like?" Louis seethed, still marching back and forth. Larissa's ocean eyes followed him around the room as she shrugged.

"Why are you defending him anyway?" Louis halted, spinning to face the girl. His green eyes thinning accusingly.

"I'm not!" she defends sourly "I'm just tired of you going on about him all summer! It's like you're in love with him or something" She giggled but quickly stopped herself for her own safety when he gave her a harsh stare. 

"It's fine if you do, Louis! His Scottish accent is rather dreamy" She teased. Louis huffed and stormed out of the room, but not before callously bumping into Elijah's shoulder who was also walking through the kitchen door. Elijah's face scrunched up and looked back to Louis who had already disappeared upstairs.

"What's got him into a strop?" he questioned, leaning on the kitchen counter next to the sink.

"Oliver Wood" Lara confirms, picking up her breakfast bowl and carrying it to the sink. She let out a small giggle when Elijah dramatically rolled his eyes. 

"I'm convinced he's in love with him!" Elijah gossiped but his hearty laugh was cut off by Louis' muffled shouts from the top of the stairs.

"I heard that!" he screeched down the stairs. 

Larissa's lips thinned into line to refrain her from laughing and upsetting him even more. Elijah covered his mouth to do the same thing but ended up making a weird squeak which set off Larissa. Soon they were both wheezing and holding their aching stomachs. Elijah finally straightened up and wiped the tear that had let itself down his cheek. He pushed out a sigh, looking glumly towards his little cousin - more like little sister. 

"I'm gonna miss you" He pouted.

Lara mirrored his expression and opened her arms wide, only to realise her mistake when Elijah tackled her into a tight hug, winding her completely.

"Eli... can't... breathe..." she choked out. 

"Oh Merlin's beard, sorry!" Elijah smiled sheepishly (he wasn't that sorry) letting her go but keeping close by holding her shoulders and tilted his head down to reach her eyeline.

"But seriously Riz, you write me as much as you can. It gets so lonely here without you and your pubescent brother". Larissa - or 'Riz' - nodded her head profusely and brought him into another, less painful embrace. 

"And you write back too. I may not be the best at actual quidditch but you know I'm good at making plays, I could be useful." She mumbled into his shoulder. 

"Well hey, there's got to be something you're good at" Eli toyed. Lara playfully slapped him round the head, laughing as she did so. 

"Are you hugging without me?" The two's attention was pulled to the kitchen door once again at an 'offended' Louis, holding his heart.

"Are you still in a strop over Oliver Wood?" Eli asked.

"No"

"Then come here you idiot!" Lara chimed.

Louis' lips tilted into a smile as he skipped over to the two, wrapping his arms around them. Their joyous laughs being the only sound that filled the apartment. 

Rowena, am i going to miss this! Lara sulked, letting a small but lengthy sigh escape her chapped lips. She was so close with Elijah, and the thought of not being able to see him until the next holidays pulled her heartstrings.

She would have Louis around of course. However it was his last year at Hogwarts, in other words his last chance to win the house cup. So Larissa knew that's all he'd be thinking about this year. Larissa would never blame him for his obsession though, he was determined to make a career out of it, following Elijah's footsteps. 

Louis looked up to Elijah more than anyone, he was proud to have such a talented quidditch player as a cousin. Which is why It would be a surprise to anyone at Hogwarts that they were even related. Louis didn't tell many about his cousin. He didn't want anyone to think he only got Ravenclaw team captain by having the Elijah Emerson as a close family member. Larissa respected this and so she only told a few close friends.

She did have Luna however who, this year, would be joining Hogwarts (we are pretending she's in Harry's year okay? okay). Larissa was worried for her. Well, Larissa was worried about everyone, but Luna especially. She is a rather peculiar girl and people have ridiculed her for this before by calling her 'loony' - just the thought of this made Lara turn red in anger. Although Lara knew that people who did this had small brains and simply misunderstood Luna, it wouldn't stop her from feeling anxious for the girl.

★彡 ---- 彡★

"You're not coming in with us?" Larissa's voice broke in disappointment at the guilty face of Elijah Emerson.

They were currently at Kings Cross station ready to get on platform 9 3/4 when he had cut their goodbyes short.

"Riz, don't make me feel bad! Captain wants us on the pitch bright and early." He scolded (although Larissa knew he was just as annoyed as she was) whilst pulling louis into hug. Larissa stood with her arms folded and jaw clenched, staring as Elijah whispered something into Louis' ear. Louis nodded giving a small smile to the chaser then turned to the girl they towered over, who looked more confused than ever but decided there was no point in questioning it since they would never tell her. Elijah smiled down at the girl before wiping a 'tear' from his eye.

"My little Lara's all grown up" he cooed. Larissa couldn't help but break into a small smile and roll her eyes in 'annoyance' at the boy. Elijah visibly becomes more rushed to leave when he sees the time. Bringing the two into one last hug he kisses them both on the head like a protective mother. 

"Got everything?" Elijah scanned his eyes rapidly over their luggage. 

"Yes." the two students nodded.

"And remember it's Luna's first year so look out for her on the platform okay?" Elijah continued to drag out their time together.

"Yes" the two said in unison again, sharing a knowing look. 

"And write to me-" 

"yes!" The siblings laughed and Elijah's panic ridden face softened. 

"Okay well go!" he shooed the two off through the wall that led onto the platform. 

Larissa felt her lips curve into a bright smile the minute she got onto the bustling platform. A mix of excitement and anxiety hung in the air and suffocated the young wizards as they weaved their way through families saying goodbye to their children. When Louis was putting their luggage on the train, Larissa spotted a flash of platinum blonde in the crowd.

"Luna?" Larissa questioned more to herself, but it grabbed Louis' attention. The duo scanned the platform and it only took a few seconds for Louis to spot the girl towards the front of the train. Grabbing Lara's arms he pulled her towards their little sister who - like always- had a dazed and confused expression written all over her face.

"Luna!" Larissa's eyes widened as she was dragged over to the girl, engulfing her in a desperate hug, it had been too long since they saw their little sister. Louis took Luna from Larissa by picking her up to rest on his hips. Luna didn't say much, but the wide grin on her face said enough.

"We missed you!" Larissa beamed, pinching Luna's pale cheeks. Luna let out a soft giggle as she did so. 

"Where's dad?" Louis looked around in effort to spot the man but he was no where in sight. Louis sighed and glanced to his sister who had an upset, but unsurprised look on her face. Her father would be too overwhelmed here and she knew that. It would only remind him of Pandora. It didn't stop her from missing her father, though. 

Lara was snapped out of her upset mood when the Ravenclaw Quidditch team loudly made their way their presence known to the three. 

"Well if it isn't Louis Lovegood!" A tall blonde who Larissa recognised to be Ravenclaw's beater grinned and dragged the attention of 5 other tall boys to the group.

Larissa gulped, suddenly surrounded by all these 6th and 7th years who seemed to be about a foot taller than she was. It was intimidating to say the least. She could see Luna felt the same since she dug her head into Louis' neck. 

"And you must be Larissa" the beater looked her up and down and stuck out his hand for her to take. 

"Lara" she corrected politely, letting the boy engulf her hand entirely and shake it rather harshly. 

"Lara" he grinned "that's a pretty name" he confirmed, keeping a firm hold on her petite hand.

Larissa felt a pink blush creep up onto her cheeks. 

Why am I blushing? Its just because I'm intimidated that's all... he is very attractive though. Larissa silently scolded herself for her thoughts and took her hand away from the boys grip.

"Lara this is Isaac Smith, our beater" Louis informed her before introducing her to the rest of the team. 

Soon, it was time to board the train and so Lara said her goodbyes to the quidditch team and Louis, who promised he'd find Luna some first year girls for her to sit with, as she was still resting quite comfortably in his arms. 

Lara smiled as she walked down the aisle of the train to find her friends' compartment. She had a feeling this was going to be a good year.


	4. MISSING

LARA'S POV

I had hardly even opened the compartment door before I was engulfed in a suffocating hug by someone. I assumed it was Ella due to the exuberant aroma of cigarette smoke that emitted from her long curly locks. I would usually scold her for the rotten habit, but I found myself missing her scent over the summer so I left it alone and returned the embrace before pulling away to look her over. 

She certainly hadn't changed from last year- still as beautiful and radiant as ever. Ella was the polar opposite to me, with bouncy brown hair that paired nicely with her big honey brown eyes. And If she couldn't get any more perfect her hourglass figure was jaw-drooping. That certainly attracted many boys (and girls, for that matter, since Ella didn't have a preference). I felt an immense smile sweep across my face at the girl I missed so dearly. 

"Lara!" she squealed excitedly "Ugh! I cannot begin to tell you how chuffed I am that you are finally here!" She beamed once again, keeping a firm grip on the my shoulders.

"Oh yeah, why's that?" I giggled up at her taller figure. 

"Because Kieran's been talking about this stupid book for the past 10 minutes!" she complained, throwing her arms up dramatically. 

I quickly peered under her raised arm to see my other best friend Kieran sheepishly smiling with a book clasped in a firm grip. 

"Hi Kieran" I smiled, giving a little wave.

"Hi Lara" His lips tilted upwards before I turned back to a very dramatic Ella. Nothing has changed.

"I mean I'm in Slytherin for a reason! not a Ravenclaw" she continued with an exasperated sigh, aiming the last bit at the ginger boy behind her who simply rolled his eyes.

"Nothing wrong with Ravenclaws!" I reprimanded, pushing passed her gently so that I could sit comfortably next to Kieran. Ella huffed and sat opposite us, resting one foot on Kieran's lap. I noticed the small blush that smarmed his freckled checks but decided to say nothing for now, it was obvious he had a crush on her but I don't even think he knew that yet. 

"I can't believe we are already in our fifth year at Hogwarts" Ella sighed, her mood suddenly deflated while picking at the Slytherin logo that was embroidered on her robes. 

All I could do was send an understanding nod to my best friend as I processed what she said. My time at Hogwarts really has flown by. I mean, it feels like only yesterday that me and Ella met on our first day. Or when we met Kieran in 2nd year after Ella dared herself to go flirt with the Ravenclaw, the image of him blushing as red as a tomato was still imprinted in my brain and just the thought of it caused me to let out a giggle. 

"What's so funny?" Kieran stopped bickering with Ella (Who had returned to her previous mood) for a couple of seconds with an expecting glance. I just shook my head at him and listened as they returned to their squabble. How clueless they must be to not realise they like each other. I know for a fact that Ella teases who she likes, and she teased Kieran every damn minute.

No one's POV 

The three laughed for what seemed like forever on the train. They caught up about what they had done over the summer, Ella making sure to check how Ezra was doing (she had a thing for quidditch players). 

Lara was surprised she hadn't made a move on Louis yet, but Lara guessed that it had something to do with a certain clever ginger occupying her thoughts instead. Kieran of course, studied over the summer. He was the perfect living definition of a Ravenclaw, there was no denying it. 

The trios laughter was disrupted when Louis banged on the glass compartment door, his face a bright red and eyes bulging . Larissa's eyebrows furrowed as she leaned forward to unlock the door. Her brother rushed in, clearly out of breath.

Lara sat up straight and waited impatiently for him to speak. Kieran and Ella share a muddled glance before he finally had the energy to explain.

"It's Luna I- I cant find her" The girl stood up immediately at the mention of their little sister's name.

"What do you mean you can't find her?" Lara pushed.

"I-"

"She got on the train right? You did take her to the first years like you promised?" 

"Well yes- uh no... maybe?" He rambled, which only encouraged Larissa's unsteady heart rate.

"What do you mean maybe?!" 

"I-" Louis started but the heated Ravenclaw could care less as she interrupted him once more. 

"Never mind. Louis, you go to the Hufflepuff's carriage and look there okay?" She bossed, louis didn't waste his time lingering around and sped off to the front of the train.

Turning back to meet her friends' concerned stares she takes a shaky, deep breath and tries to contain herself. The girl could get a little hot headed especially for those she cared for. 

"Ella, you go to Slytherin's carriage and Kieran you stay here and ask if anyone's seen a little girl with white hair and blue eyes" They nodded and stood to leave.

"I'll check the Gryffindor carriage" She ordered, almost to herself and with that the three had split up in search for Luna.

A couple carriages down from the Ravenclaw's, was the Gryffindor carriage, house of the brave. In this carriage, Oliver wood sat slumped with his neck craned downwards. His brown eyes boring into the messy pages that sat comfortable on his lap, arms clutched tight onto the notebook that held all his quidditch plays. 

"Oliver!" George Weasley boomed annoyingly to grab the boy's attention.

"What?!" The scot huffed at the two twins who had been bugging him for the entire journey. He loved these boys, he really did, but a few hours train journey with them was living hell, worse than not being able to play quidditch for a week! Okay maybe not but you get it, Oliver was at the end of his tether.

"What's got your knickers in a twist?" George grinned and pulled his gaze right to his twin brother Fred who had an identical annoying grin plastered on his face.

"Maybe he's thinking about the ghost girl he's been talking about all summer!" The ginger on the left conspired.

"Come again Fred?" George screwed his brows together and looked expectantly to him, as if he didn't already know.

It's true. Oliver did talk about the Ravenclaw a lot over the summer. But it's only because he was curious to know who she is. Additionally, Oliver needed to thank her for calming his nerves last year. It had nothing to do with the fact she might've been the prettiest girls he has ever laid his eyes on, or so he told himself. 

Oliver's face twist in disgust as George broke into a wide taunting smirk.

"First of all" The moody boy started "She wasn't a ghost. I mean, she crashed into me for Godric's sake! Ghosts cant do that... can they?" The boy looked to Fred for an answer but he just shared a shrug with his brother. 

"Second of all, I've been thinking about quidditch all summer, not her. I'm not passing over the house cup without a fight this year. Those Ravenclaws are not going to be able to touch us, Lovegood's finished" I declared, folding my arms tight against my chest.

"If you say so" The redheads nodded before leaping up. Fred patting Oliver on the back as he walks to the exit of the carriage followed by George. George turns around once reaching the compact doorway, his other half peaking over his shoulder. 

"We're gonna go and find the girls. Wanna come Oli?" 

"No I'm alright ,you go" Oliver sends a weak smile their way then shoos them off. Gaze turned back to his notebook that remained on his lap, mind racing a hundred miles per hour. Even thinking about the quidditch cup put him on edge. however, Oliver wouldn't let it stop him from winning again. He was determined to stop at nothing this year to keep Gryffindor at number one, and he most certainly will not be distracted by anything. Not even some girl with platinum blonde hair, striking blue eyes and an angelic voice.

However, fate had other ideas for Oliver, when his thoughts were unexpectedly interrupted by a frantic knock at the doorway. Head whipping round, the boys eyes met with hers.

The girl didn't waste time to stare back before she dragged the heavy compartment door open and stepped forward. The boy instantly recognised the panic on her features, and closed his notebook, straightening his posture.

"Have you seen a my little sister? Looks a little like me but long hair and is about this high" she described while making a gestures. 

Oliver shook his head slowly, watching her shoulders deflate in disappointment.

"No, I haven't I'm sorry" He confirmed 

The girl sighed,biting her lip with anxiety before turning to leave. Oliver hesitated before calling out to her.

"If I see her, I'll let you know" 

She turned to look at the boy, who gulped and allowed a comforting smile to grow on his face. For some reason or another, this brought a sort of relief to the girl and made her wonder if he remembered her from last year. The girl brushed off the thought as she was dragged back to reality, realising she had been staring at him, and him at her. The Ravenclaw coughed awkwardly, nodding and then swiftly leaving just like that.

"Wait I never got your-" Oliver let out as quick as he could, but she had already disappeared down the carriage isle. 

Making an effort to go after her and find out her name, the boy rushed out the door only to collide with another body. 

"Oliver! if you wanted a hug you could've just asked!" George cooed, stretching his lanky arms out towards him. However, Oliver simply retracted from the ginger and straightened up onto the tip of his toes to look at the corridor behind the towering redhead

"What's wrong mate?" George glanced over his shoulder to where Oliver was staring and then back, puzzled expression embedded on his features.

"She was just here!" Oliver whined sinking back into the compartment.

"Who was?" George questioned.

"The girl! The girl I've been talking about all summer, she was just here I swear" Oliver adopted a slouched posture, looking defeated.

"I'm starting to think this girl isn't real, Oli" George laughed, earning a solemn stare from the scot.

"What's going on in here then?" Fred chimed as he practically galloped into the room. George broke his teasing stare on Oliver to turn to his identical brother.

"Oli's seeing ghosts" George clarified.

"Wicked!"


	5. LOVEGOOD

Students dressed in house robes flooded into the brilliant main hall, bustling with excitement as they found their tables and settled in comfortably with their friends. Mr Filch looked on in disgust, clinging to his orange cat.

Of these students were Larissa, Kieran and Ella who had just finished their extensive search for Luna. It turned out that once Louis had dropped her off with some first years, she tried to follow him to his compartment instead. It was Kieran who found her in the Hufflepuff carriage, being looked after by two fourth years. The trio had returned to their usual selves, chatting about the latest gossip that the Harry Potter had come to Hogwarts.

Once Ella left had the Ravenclaws to go to the Slytherin table, Kieran moved onto the topic of the latest book he was reading. It wasn't like this bored the girl, but as she sat down on the wooden stall she couldn't help but feel distracted by the distinct pair of blue eyes that trained on her face. Shuffling uncomfortably, Larissa tilted her gaze to the left and instantly met with the eyes of the Ravenclaw beater, Isaac Smith. 

Once she had caught him staring, she thought that he would just feel embarrassed and turn away, but instead he sent a wink and grinned slyly. Larissa's eyes widened slightly, but not enough that he would notice, before turning back to Kieran. She chose to ignore the sinking feeling in her stomach, or the blush that was growing on her cheeks. 

It wasn't that Larissa didn't like the idea of having someone wink at her, but Isaac's confidence was a shock to the system. 

I'm sure he's like that with every girl... even his best friend's little sister...? Larissa concluded. 

For a Ravenclaw, Larissa was completely and utterly clueless when someone was drooling over her.

Take Oliver Wood for example. The boy was currently sat at the Gryffindor table listening to Percy, Fred, George and Katie sharing rumours of the famous Harry Potter coming to Hogwarts. However he wasn't listening, he was staring. There at the Ravenclaw table, sat the ghost from the quidditch game, the ghost from the train. 

He knew she was real and that The twins were way over their heads when they told him otherwise, but he couldn't help but feel upset if she wasn't a reality. He didn't know exactly what spurred on this little crush, but it was happening fast. Faster than any other crush that Oliver Wood has had, which come to think of it, was none. The boy would never pursue girls due to his obsession and dedication to a certain sport, although many would try to pursue him. There was something about this girl that made him want to know more. 

It's probably just because she complimented me about quidditch, or that she is really pretty and way out of my league, or I'm just being nosy... The boy came up with many excuses like this and they all led to the same conclusion...

I'm introducing myself to this girl, today.

When professor Dumbledore excused all students from their seats to go to their common rooms, Larissa was beaming with joy at her little sister who had just been sorted into Ravenclaw.

"I knew it! I just knew it!" she grabbed Luna's small hand and dragged her to the big crowd of people leaving the room, landing next to her big brother.

"I told you she'd be Ravenclaw" She smirked, shoving her elbow playfully into his side. He shrugged her off but sent a smile Luna's way. As the three filed out of the extensive room, Larissa came to an abrupt holt, remembering she had left her wand on her table.

"Hey Louis, I'll catch up, I forgot something" 

"You want me to take Luna?" He stopped too, struggling to stay in place as people pushed against him. 

"No that's alright, I want to take her to the common room to see her reaction".

Louis nodded, waving a little goodbye to his youngest sister who was still clutching onto his other sister for dear life, then left with the rest of the students.

"Come on Luna" Larissa led the way back to the table, before locating her wand and sticking it in her robe pocket. But before she could turn to leave, Professor Mcgonagall stepped in front of her.

"Miss Lovegood, I wanted to catch you before you left, dear" She smiled.

"What was it you wanted to talk about, Professor?" Luna tilted her head to the left, furrowing her brows. 

"You're one of the smartest girls in your year, Miss Lovegood. Top grades in every class." The woman explained, clasping her hands together in front of her before she continued.

"Therefore, I request that you become a private tutor for some of the... less progressed students" 

"Of course professor, would I be teaching people in my year?" Lara was hiding her excitement that she was the first person Mcgonagall went too, she felt special. 

"Yes, dear. I can fill you in on some details later on. For now, you are free to take Luna and yourself back to the Ravenclaw common room" She nodded to the pair before moving out of their way. 

"Oh, and Luna" The professor bent down slightly, to come closer to Luna's height.

"Congratulations on being sorted into Ravenclaw." With a heart-warming smile, she left. 

Larissa looked down at the little girl who was practically twinkling with glee, making the older girl feel incredibly happy for her.

"Come on..let's get going" Larissa once again pulled at Luna's hand as they set off towards the common room. Larissa was beyond excited to give Luna a tour of the blue and bronze room. She couldn't wait to watch her little sister marvel at the hundreds of books that lined the wall, or the gorgeous galaxy painted on the ceiling. However, before they could even get ten steps away from the great hall, they were once again stopped. It's like the universe was trying everything to make her late for curfew. 

"Excuse me" A Scottish voice rang from behind her. Larissa knew that voice. 

Swivelling on her heals and letting go of Luna's hand, she met with the gaze of Oliver Wood - her brother's rather attractive worst enemy.

"Y-yes" she stuttered out, nervously.

Why is he talking to me? does he want to know something about Louis? 

He stared down to his shuffling feet for a few seconds before looking up again, however as he faced her once more, she noticed the pink tinge that highlighted his cheeks.

"I wanted to say thank you" The scot lets out.

"Thank you?" 

"Yes. Thankyou." He confirms, stepping forward with sincerity. But this only emphasised the confusion Lara was experiencing, she hadn't even noticed Luna was tugging at her robes to grab her attention. 

"What have I done?" She lets out a small awkward laugh. 

Pretty Oliver recounted.

"You don't remember? I- Uhm well, last year before the Ravenclaw Vs Gryffindor quidditch match you really helped to calm my nerves. So, uhm thankyou" He ultimately established. 

Larissa raised one of her eyebrows, taken back that he would actually thank her for such a small, simple thing. In Louis' eyes he was just an arrogant son of a bi-

"I'm Oliver Wood" He stretched out his hand to the girl, stepping forward. 

"I know." Larissa declared a little too quickly, the boy dropped his hand and raised his eyebrows.

"I mean, you're the Gryffindor quidditch team captain and we spoke last year and I remember you- um so... yeah, I know" The Ravenclaw came up with that excuse, instead of saying 'yeah I know, my brother has been talking about beating you with a Nimbus 2000 all summer'.

He watched as she fiddled with her robes, but her head snapped up when she heard a soft laugh emit from the boy. He was smiling at her, his shoulders shaking a bit with the hearty laugh that started to die down. 

"You're a fan of quidditch then?" He asked. Inside Oliver was praying to Godric that she did, but his question was unanswered when a little girl emerged from behind her.

"Lara" a small voice echoed, pulling Lara out of her trance, and back to her little sister. 

"Yes Luna?" 

Luna just looked to her big sisters hand and retook it, smiling and then glancing up to the boy who grinned down at her. Larissa laughed at her little sister before returning her attention to Oliver.

"Lara? That's your name?" The boy couldn't stop the grin that widened on his face, showing the dimples that lined his rosy cheeks. He had finally learnt her name. He watched her hair in awe as it fell into her face from nodding. She tucked it behind her ear before he spoke again.

"Is there a last name to go with that, Lara?"

"Lovegood. Lara Lovegood"

Lara had never seen a smile falter so fast.


	6. COMMON ROOMS

"She's who?!" George gasped, pulling away from Oliver who sat stiff on the red common room sofa. His eyes burning into the orange blaze of the cracking fire before him. The boys chest heaved up then down in an exasperated sigh. 

Currently, the entire gryffindor quidditch team surround the stoic scot, bombarding him with questions about the identity of his summer crush.

"A Lovegood" He repeated, not meeting their eyes.

Angelina raised her eyebrows at george, pushing him to ask more.

"As in Louis Lovegood, captain of the Ravenclaw team?" 

"As in louis lovegood, captain of the Ravenclaw team. My worst enemy" Oliver seethed confirming.

Alicia smiled putting her hand on Oliver's knee, in hopes that what she would say next wouldn't offend him too much.

"Don't you think that's a bit far Ol', It doesn't mean you can't pursue his younger sister..." she trailed off at her wrong choice of words. 

"Pursue?" Fred whispered teasingly into her ear. Cringing, Alicia turned back to Oliver who had his gaze now fixed on her, with an offended look. Alicia quickly removed her consoling hand from his knee so she wouldn't feel the wrath of Oliver Wood. She knew all too much about that from when they lost a game against Hufflepuff. 

"Pursue?! One" He began, holding his finger up. "Of course that means i can't 'pursue' her. If Louis Lovegood is my worst enemy, then so is she." He finalized. George, Angelina and Katie shared a little snicker when he mocked Alicia's 'pursue' frenzy but immediately held their tongues when his head snapped to glare at them.

"Two. It's not like she'd even want to, after what happened when she'd told me who she was..." Oliver sunk back into his chair, hands moving to cover his pink tinted cheeks. 

The four shared a confused glance, soon turning back to the boy in the centre. 

"What happened after?" 

"He just ran away?" Kieran questioned. Lara slowly nodded as Ella was in fits on the floor. 

The trio were currently discussing the weird run-in Lara had with Oliver Wood in the empty Ravenclaw common room - if it wasn't empty Ella would definitely get a few judgemental stares. While Ella found the whole situation absolutely hilarious. Kieran and Lara were as confused as ever. 

"I mean, what did i do wrong?" Lara huffed, turning to the boy on her left. 

"Have i got food on my face or something?" He shook his head quickly. 

This would usually be reassuring to the blonde, however it didn't answer her question as to why the Gryffindor suddenly looked furious at her and then ran in the other direction.

Ella slowed her laughter, letting out a long exhale but still bearing a wide smile on her face.

"Maybe it's because of Louis" She offered. Of course Lara had already thought of that, but why would that affect him? She wasn't her brother (not that that's a bad thing). 

Lara brushed all the thoughts and sunk back into the blue sofa, staring up at the galaxy enchanted ceiling, shuffling the lean her head on Kieran's shoulder. 

"Mcgonnagall's asked me to be a tutor this year" Lara changed the subject, not caring to waste her time on something she didn't know about, and why would she care about Oliver Wood star quidditch player anyway? 

Because he's hot thats why Lara shook off the thought that invaded her mind.

Kieran nodded, careful not the knock his chin into Lara's head, before asking about a suddenly very silent Ella's day. 

The trio spoke till the moon was high, the owls were cooing outside and the foxes screaming in the distance. Ella left with a final hug before sneaking back to the dungeons. Kieran and Lara parted ways into their dorms soon after.

As Lara laid on her blue and bronze bedsheets, drowned in complete silence apart from her roommate Yasmin's soft snores, her mind drifted to the scottish boy she's been bumping into alot recently. The rush of curiousness that seeped into her veins the second he ran away still lingered, driving Lara crazy with an urge to know why he looked at her with such disgust. She had given up on scolding herself for thinking so hard about somebody she hardly knee, and drifted off to sleep with warm brown eyes in her mind.

Meanwhile, those warm brown eyes stared at the cold stone ceiling off his dorm, Percy's talking in his sleep being the only sound in the room. His mind ran a hundred miles per minute, as it usually would. However, it was those icey blue eyes that controlled his thoughts this time, not quidditch. 

As long as she's nowhere in sight., it'll be easy to get over this little crush, Oliver. She's just a girl. A very pretty, sweet girl... What are you thinking Oliver?! From now on, you will spare no second thought for the Ravenclaw. 

And he meant that, he really did. Or he'd convinced himself he did.

What Oliver was yet to know, was that he was failing potions. And tomorrow Snape would be the one to tell him he'd need a private tutor. 

Larissa Lovegood just so happened to by the best at potions in the whole of Hogwarts. 

"Not so fast, Wood" Professor Snape held out his pale, lanky arm to prohibit Oliver from entering the potions class, seething down at the boy in pure disgust. 

Oliver held his breath, looking up at the Slytherin, desperately trying to keep his disrespectful thoughts from escaping his mouth.

"Is there something I can help you with professor?" 

"You are failing potions, Wood. Now usually I wouldn't care of your incompetence. But professor Macgonnagall has insisted that you have a private tutor" The man in black drawled.

Oliver's face fell, posture deflating. Snape continued, not carrying a single care in the world that his student was upset.

"Maybe, if you weren't so focused on that irritating ball game-" 

"Quidditch" Oliver interrupted, his mouth running faster than his mind. Snape raised one eyebrow and scowled at the boy.

"Quidditch" Snape corrected, Oliver cringed at the poisonous way it rolled off his tongue. 

"Then you wouldn't be so behind in potions, and any other subject for that matter... Now, your tutor has been informed and is waiting for you. I trust you know where the library is, Wood? It's a wonderful place where people read. I trust you know what reading is-" 

Oliver nodded. "Yes, of course professor". 

"On your way then Wood, wouldn't want to keep her waiting." He dragged, and with a billow of his cape he had disappeared into the booming potions class. 

Oliver was left to sulk in the empty school hallway. He didn't particularly care that he was failing Potions... or any of his classes for that matter. All that mattered was quidditch. However Oliver knew Snape had the power to take his captaincy away from him if he continued to fail (which would destroy Oliver's entire hopes and dreams). So in an effort to cooperate, he picked up his feet and dragged himself to the dreaded library. 

LARISSA'S POV

It was just before my first class of the day, Herbology, when Mcgonnagall found me and told me I had to tutor potions instead. 

Now sat on a far table in the library, my eyes scanned over all my potions work. Tonnes of "A*" were written on the pages in big green hand writing. I suspired, setting my elbow on the dark oak table and my head in my hand. I bounced my knee, surveying the library entrance for my new "student" to arrive. 

It was then I saw Oliver Wood trudge in, head bowed. Instantly reminding me of the night before, when he ran away from me. And the horrible feeling of not knowing why.

He sauntered towards the front desk and began to talk to the librarian, it was then she pointed straight in my direction. I watched intently as his gaze scanned the library, those warm brown eyes landing on me. 

Upon seeing me, his shoulders slumped even further (if that was possible at this point). I sent him a small smile, removing my head from my hand and sitting up straighter. 

However, he did not return this smile and I took note in how he took his time making his way over to me. My smile faultered ever so slightly at his demeanour. He had been so nice before, what changed? 

My thoughts were interrupted, the Scot was now standing stoic in front of me, hardly meeting my stare at all. 

"Hello Oliver." I smiled kindly again. 

"Lovegood." He snarled like a lion.

Taken aback by this sudden violent tone, I remained silent for a while, moving to clear up all my mess on the table and gesturing him to sit on the seat opposite me. Eventually, he did. 

"So, uhm, Oliver." My voice croaked. I cleared my throat embarrassed.

"I'm failing potions, Snape sent me to you." His burning eyes attentive to my work. 

"Alright...Oliver are you okay? You seem a little tense." I leant forward, he leant back.

"Yep. Fine." 

"It's just I think-" 

"Doesn't matter what you think" his voice sharp like a knife. "You don't know me." He reminded.

I sighed at his insolence. Have I done something? No, I haven't. 

My face hardened, which I assume he noticed since his eyes finally met mine. For a split second. 

"Let's get started"

We studied for about an hour, going over babbling beverage, black fire potion and cough potions. I supposed he was listening, as he would nod now and again or let out the occasional "okay".

The more the tutor session carried on, the more my curiosity of his bad mood against me grew, I'm a Ravenclaw after all. But I decided to leave it, he was right I didn't know him and it was none of my business. 

With that in mind, I left quickly once the hour was over and rushed to my next class, care of magical creatures. 

My hands gripped tight on the strap on my bag as I swerved round a corner and crashed into 2 bodies. 

I really need to stop doing that. 

"Ow!" I let out, tripping over my own foot but being caught by 2 pairs of hands. 

"Be careful where you're going woman!" a male voice sounded above me to my left.

"Yeah. Wouldn't want you to hurt yourself now would we?" another, very similar voice, sounded to my right. 

I peered up once I'd straighten out my robes and met with two identical faces smiling back at me. They were a lot taller than me, with bright blue eyes and fiery red hair. I took note of the Gryffindor symbol embroidered on their robes.

"Thankyou" I smiled back at them. They nodded in sync.

"I'm Fred! and this is"

"George!" The other finished. 

Before I knew it they had each take one of my hands and were shaking them lightly.

"And I'm Lara Lovegood" I beamed back.

"What a lovely name" Fred looked down to me, sending a knowing look towards George.

"So, Miss Lovegood, where were you off too in such a hurry?" George questioned, crossing his arms and tilting his head to the side.

"Care of magical creatures" I grinned at the two. Having only just met them, they sure did make my mood better, whoever they were. However I got a feeling, they knew more about me than they let on just by the cheeky looks they were giving each other. 

"Brilliant!" they harmonised, causing me to giggle.

"We were going there too!" Fred sung, before reaching out and linking his arm with mine, weirdly I didn't feel uncomfortable at all and didn't waste time to link my other arm with George. 

"So Lara, tell us about yourself!" Fred chimed as we began to walk.

"Well" I thought about something interesting. 

"I'm a Ravenclaw, my favourite lesson is astronomy anddddd I-" 

"Lara." I was cut off by a strict voice behind me, pulling me to a harsh halt and the twins soon after.

I turned on my heals, unlinking my arms with the lovely twins and meeting the cold leer of my older brother. He looked cross, his arms stiffly folded and his eyebrows in a stern v-shape.

"Oh, hello Louis..." I smiled awkwardly. It was then I noticed the sly grin that was next to my brother, Isaac. Why was he always grinning? Surely his face hurt by now?

"Lara. You shouldn't be hanging out with people like the Weasleys." He scorned, as if he had any power over me. I hated Louis when he was like this, I know he's just trying to protect me from - who he thinks - is the enemy. But he's wrong.

I turned my body back to the twins who stared at the floor, their smiles had since wiped off their faces. This made me upset at my brother's ghastly effect on them.

"It's my choice, don't you think Louis?" I stood my ground. His face grew angrier as he began striding towards me with purpose. He was now towering above me and grabbed my arm harshly. I struggled against him as he pulled me away making him retort his head back in my direction. He came out to say something, but was disrupted my another voice. 

"Is there a problem here Lovegood?" A Scottish accent called.

Me and Louis' head snapped to look at the boy who stood a ways away, he mirrored the same moody expression as earlier, however now I got the feeling it wasn't towards me. 

I sunk back towards the twins in an effort to escape the inevitable argument between my brother and Oliver. My back crashed into one of the twins and I stayed there, feeling that same safe feeling from before. 

"Oh. Wood. Thought I smelled your foul stench the moment I entered the hallway" Louis teased, the Ravenclaw quidditch team laughed in a taunting chorus behind him. 

"It's all well and good using smart insults, Lovegood, but if only you could replicate those smarts on the quidditch pitch" Oliver seethed. 

My brother was fuming, so was Oliver. The two quarrelled with eachother, their voices raising with every step they took towards eachother.

Such boys. It always has to come down to violence. Over a stupid sport.

And it did. 

It came in slow motion. Louis' fist clenched and raised. I found myself running to stop him, as if my feet thought before my brain. Soon enough I was inbetween them, facing Louis.

"Louis no." 

I watched as his fist faltered from its clenched position. And his face softened. There's the louis I know. 

I gave him a 'do you really want to be doing this?' look, and before You could say 'bobs your uncle' he was gone with the rest of the Ravenclaw team, not before Isaac sent a wink me way. That boy is really starting to irritate me with his constant smiling and winking.

Silence ensued, I couldn't bring myself to look back at an angry Oliver,, he might still be in the foul mood he was in earlier and at this point i didn't really care what it was about. Ever since our little run-ins it's only caused me confusion. And as a Ravenclaw, that is the worst feeling imaginable. I felt his warm breath trail down my neck causing me to shiver. I shook it off and once I'd given the twins a small smile and a "goodbye" - which they happily returned- I was off to care of magical creatures. 

OLIVER'S POV. 

I stood stiff, shocked at the girl who hadn't hesitated to bolt in front of me. I sighed, watching as the hairs on the back of her neck blew out of the way ever-so-slightly. 

Other than being extremely impressed with the girl, I felt a huge rush of guilt. I felt horrible that I treated her so bluntly in the library, but I was so desperate to keep my promise of not crushing the enemy, I forgot manners. Additionally, if I'd look her in the eyes for more than five seconds my crush on her would expand. 

My eyes followed her as she left with a small "goodbye" pointed to the twins.

"Still think she's the enemy?" George breathed out.

No. No I don't think she is. And now I feel horrible.


	7. START OVER

Dear Eli,

Things are going great at Hogwarts! I've settled in fine and would love to tell you that... Luna's in Ravenclaw! Told you she would be an eagle like me, she's too much like her older siblings! 

Anyway, this year I've been asked to tutor the "less-advanced" students. amongst those students is Oliver Wood, Louis' best friend (I'd appreciate if you wouldn't mention that to Louis, I would like to live a long life). 

Ella and Kieran say hi! Ella, in particular was asking about how you got on over the summer, the crush remains unfeigned. I've also met two lovely twins, Fred and George who I hope to see more of. They're Gryffindors you'll be happy to hear. 

Enough about me. How is everything at home? Miss me yet? How is Puddlemere doing without their favourite mascot? I don't know how they cope. I hope you are doing well, I honestly miss you to bits and I've only been here two days.

Lots of love,

Riz x 

I sighed, setting my black feather quill aside and folding the cream parchment down the middle. Slipping the letter into a envelope, I used melted blue wax to close it. 

I got up from the desk in my empty dorm and carried it to the window where my snowy owl, Nova, was cleaning her wing. 

"Here you are, my love" I held the letter out and she grabbed it in her small golden beak. 

"To Elijah please, and make sure he gives you treats and a rest before you make your way back" The owl cooed and with a flap of her wings was off into the dreary September weather. 

I gazed out of the window for a while longer, taking in the beauty of Hogwarts. Ravenclaw tower really did have the best view. You could see the valleys for miles and miles, stretching out onto the horizon that shone with a golden gleam almost every evening. Like it was now. 

A yawn tore it's way from my mouth, reminding me of my exhaustion. I'd been here two days and I'd already been working non-stop. When I wasn't in class, I was tutoring. And when I was tutoring, I was either tutoring insolent year ones or an insolent Oliver Wood. I hadn't seen him since his and Louis little 'tiff' yesterday but I knew I'd have to deal with his grumpy attitude in our next tutorial. 

I pushed myself off the windowsill and made my way to my bed. Falling onto the blue silk duvet and the grey fur pillows I felt pure bliss. I could stay here forever. With that in mind, I fell into a deep sleep. 

"Lara! Get up." A voice bellowed in my ear. Groaning, I stuff my face further into the pillow, hoping whoever was waking me up would leave. 

"Lara..." again. 

"Is she dead?" Another voice sounded on the other side of me. 

"I don't know. Ask her" 

"Lara. Are you dead?" 

...

"She's dead." 

"Well that's a shame! Because we were just going to have breakfast... it's really yummy". 

Jumping up, I pushed passed a smiling Kieran and Yasmin. I wiped the drool on my chin and hurried to the bathroom.

"I'm up!"

I collapsed onto the Ravenclaw table, hair tied away from my face in a half up bun (since my hair was too short to tie it up all the way). 

"Someone's a happy chappy this morning!" Ella teased, settling in front of me. 

"Shouldn't you be at the Slytherin table?" I judged sourly, pouring some cereal into my bowl. I'm not a morning person, can you blame my snakiness? 

"Come on El', Lara's never been a morning person. Isn't that right?" Kieran gave voice to beside me, patting me on the back. 

I grumbled in response, my eyes still half shut. 

"Lara. Don't look now, but Wood's staring at you." Ella uttered excitedly. 

"That's nice" I remained focused on my food. 

"Why aren't you freaking out about that? I mean, he's like the hottest boy in our year and he's staring at you" She raised her eyebrows, I only shrugged while picking at my cereal. 

"He's probably staring at you, Ella. You're gorgeous. Plus, he was so rude to me yesterday so I shouldn't care whether he's looking at me or not" I excused.

"Take a look for yourself" Kieran uttered, shoving his eyebrow lightly into my side.

I opened my eyes fully and glanced over to the Gryffindor table that sat behind Ella, and sure enough he was staring at me, along with Fred and George. 

Even when I watched the Scot smile kindly at me, then turn back to his friends, I remained still. 

"That boy's mood towards me changes every five minutes I swear" I rolled my eyes, grabbing my spoon and stuffed my face with the colourful Rice Krispies. 

The two nodded in my peripheral vision since I had already told them about his bluntness to me in the library. 

"Ugh that's boys for you" Ella complained .

"Hey!" Kieran laughed. 

"What? Am I wrong?" She smiled back.

Flirting. It was so obvious.

"Shouldn't you be at the Slytherin table?" Kieran repeated my earlier comment.

"No. It's no fun over there. Especially since this little blonde weasel joined. He won't stop talking about his father. I swear to Salazar if he says one more mudblood comment I will personally cut off his-" 

"Excuse me" a small voice from behind me interrupted the rambling brunette. 

She halted immediately and her eyes visibly widened at a figure behind me. 

Confused, I turned around to find a rather nervous Gryffindor.

"Hello Oliver" I said stiffly. I eyed his twiddling hands. Was he... nervous? 

"Did you need help with potions?" I queried, eating another motif uk of cereal.

Suddenly he caught onto some words to say, and with a sudden burst of energy he asked if we could have a tutorial today. 

"Erm. Yeah okay. Well, my days booked but I can do 5:30. how's that for you?"

"Great!" He beamed, causing me and the others to flinch slightly at his strange outburst. 

"Uhm, I mean sure." His smile diminished back to a cool grin. He gave a quick nod to Kieran and Ella before he left.

I swivelled back to face my two best friends who both seemed as befuddled as I was.

"That boy is getting weirder by the day" Ella established. 

"Tell me about it" I giggled. 

I sat on the far corner table in the library, knee bouncing with anticipation as usual. I glanced to the clock on my right reading 5:45. 

Ugh. If this boys stood me up I swear to Rowena- 

A small piece of paper hitting my head bounced me out of my mini rage. I scrunched my nose up and shot my gaze around the room as to who may of thrown it. However, no one was around. I assumed it was charmed, then.

Upon opening up the small piece of parchment, it took me a while to convey what was actually written on the page. Whoever wrote this had terrible handwriting.

Lara, 

sorry I'm late but quidditch practice has run over. Meet me on the quidditch pitch in 10. 

\- O x

I chose to ignore the 'x' at the end as much as I could, before collecting up my potions work as setting off for the quidditch pitch. 

NO ONES POV 

Pulling her bronze and blue scarf tight around her neck, a small shiver shot up though her body. Reminding Lara of the unforgiving British weather. She walked down the trail to the quidditch pitch and noticed some red dots wizzing up in the air, throwing quaffles back and forth. On closer inspection, She had worked out they were going over plays. 

Watching silently as she grew closer, Lara couldn't help but critique the way they played. Living with a puddlemere world champion had its perks, and Lara certainly knew about quidditch. 

Now positioned under the viewer stands. She ogled intently at Oliver's technique. His face was set in a concentrated stare as one of his chasers came at him with a quaffle. He deflected it easily and cheers from both Fred and George could be heard from where she was standing.

Her teeth chattered in the cold air, prompting her to step forward into view and get whatever Oliver wanted over with.

OLIVER'S POV

"Hi Lara!" One of the twins called out, dragging me and the rest of the team's attention to a small blue spec below us. I felt my cheeks grow a deep red, suddenly feeling nervous that she actually came, and that I'd actually have confront her. 

It was this morning when the twins convinced me to apologise to the girl. I knew she didn't deserved me snapping at her in the library yesterday. Or the moody looks I gave her. And so I invited her to the quidditch pitch to hopefully straighten things out. 

She's been nothing but nice to me, ever since last year.

When sending the parchment, Fred convinced me to add a 'x'. But now, I felt as though this was too forward and only increased my nerves to go and speak to the beautiful girl. 

I tried pulling myself away from my anxious thoughts and back to the team.

"Team! Good work today! I'll see you tomorrow 7am sharp!" My voice cascaded around the arena. The whole group shared annoyed groans before flying down to the ground and walking to the changing rooms. I followed and walked a bit behind Fred and George. 

"Good evening Lara" George walked passed her, followed by Fred.

"Good evening George" she giggled.

What's that feeling in my stomach? It happens when she laughs. 

"Good evening Lara" the other copied.

"Good evening Fred". 

They smiled at her then at me, before running off.

My eyes trained on the girl who watched them leave.

"You came" I gave out, surprise laced in my accent. 

"Yeah" she breathed out, steam visibly escaping her pink lips. 

"I wanted-" I faltered and shuffled on my feet.

"I wanted to apologise... I wanted to apologise for being a bit of an asshole to you in our tutor session, it wasn't fair" 

Oliver wood... apologising? Who am i? 

I rocked on my feet, nervously biting my lip. But she only stifled a laugh at me.

"Yes. You were a bit of an asshole, Oliver" She giggled again, mocking my choice of words, I laughed with her, relieved she wasn't mad.

It grew silent once more, she hugged her potions notes close to her body, waiting for me to speak up.

"Well, uhm, I was wondering maybe we could start over. You seem like a nice girl. Fred and George seem to thinks so and-" I rambled.

"Yes we can start over" She confirms, cutting me off. 

"Great!" i relieved. 

"I'm Oliver wood, nice to meet you" I held out my hand for her to take.

"Lara Lovegood" She played along and took it. 

I didn't ignore the blood rushing to my cheeks at her gentle grip, she truly was stunning and I knew I would just have to accept this little crush on her. 

"Pleasures all mine" I phrased genuinely.


	8. ISAAC’S INVITE

Three weeks had passed since Oliver had introduced himself to Lara (for the second time) and since then, both Oliver and Lara's friends had somehow merged into one big group. 

Of course lara would still have her own time with Ella and Kieran but at breakfast everyone would sit together and chat. All 10 of them. 

Just like they were now. 

Lara sat with Oliver on her right and Ella on her left. Surrounding them were the Weasley twins, Angelina, Alicia and Katie. A bit further from the group sat Kieran and Percy who were too engrossed in a book about dragons to worry about the gossip and excitement that hung in the air.

In two days was the first quidditch match of the season. 

Gryffindor Vs. Slytherin. 

"Guys you need to eat! I can't have my team being malnourished two days before the big game!" Oliver hurried, stress emitting from him in thick waves. The group groaned collectively, Fred slamming his head on the table.

"Not this again!" He whined.

"Not what again?" Lara laughed at his dramatic expression.

"It's Oliver! Whenever we get near a game he goes all 'do this! do that!'" Alicia accused.

"I'm right here guys." Oliver put in, but was ignored as Alicia carried on. Lara sent an apologetic look Oliver's way before biting into her chocolate muffin.

"Anyway! We'll be fine this year! With our secret weapon and all" George boasted but was quickly bombarded with a wall of "sh!" by the quidditch team. 

Lara's POV

What secret weapon? I turned to Ella who had the same expression of confusion on her face. Then, to Oliver who stared George down with a ferocious glare.

I bumped his shoulder, knocking him out of his gaze so that he turned to me fully. I just smiled hoping that he would mirror it. And he did, sort of. It looked a great effort to pull the ends of his lips into a smile.

"Hey Oliver!" Ella boomed loudly beside me, partly deafening me. I winced and snapped my head to glare at her but she just sat sheepishly. 

"Sorry Lara... Anyway! For someone who's telling his team to eat well, it sure does seem suspicious that you have nothing on your plate". 

I looked down to his plate and sure enough, nothing was there. 

The group made a collective 'ooo' causing Oliver to roll his eyes. I watched on while feasting on my very tasty muffin.

"Come on Oliver don't be a hypocrite!" 

"Yeah!"

"Eat something" 

"It doesn't have to be big just one little bite" 

"Yeah!" 

The group chimed, but I could hardly hear what they were all saying as they said it at the same time. The group continued to taunt him for about 10 seconds until he straightened up, came towards me and took a big bite out of my chocolate muffin. 

"My muffin!" I squeaked, heartbroken.

I slapped Oliver on the arm but he just wore a wide grin on his face, full of chocolate in his mouth. 

At least he was smiling now.

"You little-" I went to slap him on the arm again but his hand caught my wrist.

"Little what?" He teased, his firm grip still on my wrist. I felt my cheeks go bright red at his touch, sending a bolt of lightning up my arm and ringing alarm bells in my brain. 

Oliver dropped my arm and laughed a hearty laugh while the rest of the group laughed in a teasing chorus, but that was drowned out by my parade of thoughts.

Why am I blushing? Oliver's just a friend. Yeah, just a friend. I mean he is very nice looking. No, scratch that, he's drop dead gorgeous. But he wouldn't like someone like me, would he? No. There's no point in thinking too deeply into it. I don't like him.

I felt a small jab in my side and looked up to see Ella smirking. 

"What?" I whispered.

"I saw that" she said, looking towards Oliver then back to me.

"I don't know what you're talking about" I shrugged.

"We are talking about this later" she ordered before turning to angelina and joined her conversation with alicia.

—————————

Lara's POV 

It was the day before the quidditch game, everyone was buzzing and betting on who they'd think would win.

But at the moment I was far from the loud betting and buzzing atmosphere. I was in the library. 

Oliver sat in front of me, his head in his hands as he read a question from a practice paper I gave him. 

"I can't do this, Lara" he whined.

"Yes you can!" I encouraged, leaning forward. He looked up at me, meeting my eyes and I tried to ignore the feeling it gave me.

"It's just- I'm never gonna get this!" 

I shook my head in denial.

"Since our tutor lessons, you've improved so much Oliver. Don't be so hard on yourself" 

"That's only because you're such a good tutor" he winked, changing the subject onto me.

"Be careful, Oliver. Flattery will get you no where" 

"I tried" he shrugged and laughed lightly causing me to smile at him.

"I like it when you smile" he came out with suddenly.

"Hm?" Had I heard him right?

"I like it when you smile, Lara. And laugh." He confirmed, not tearing his gaze from me.

Everything seemed to slow down when he looked at me, as if everyone just stopped in the world, and it was just me and him. That had been happening a lot in the past three weeks.

"T-Thankyou"

"Do you think that maybe-" Oliver started but was interrupted by a tall figure towering over the table.

"Lara" 

Isaac.

"Hello Isaac. Can I help you with something?" I asked, trying to hide my annoyance I felt when he interrupted Oliver.

"Hanging out with Gryffindors now?" He raised his eyebrows at me, not even addressing Oliver.

"Yes. Is that a problem?" I smiled stiffly. 

"Hm? No, no of course not." He waved his hands in front of his face.

Oliver's POV

Now. Now was the time to ask her to the Hogsmeade weekend.

"Do you think that maybe-" 

But I was cut of by Isaac Smith, Ravenclaw's beater. I hid my seethe of his presence. 

I watched as the two conversed for a while, Lara looking rather uncomfortable but not stopping the conversation. Does she like him? He's two years older, she can't like him. 

"Would you like to go to the Hogsmeade weekend with me?" He asked her, sending her a wink her way. I furrowed my eyebrows in confusion and looked between the two.

"I- I" she stuttered. I took note of how hard she was gripping onto her quill, her knuckles turning white.

"She's going with me" I heard myself say, my mouth thinking before my mind.

For the first time since Isaac came over here he looked at me, shooting daggers. 

"Is that so?" He asked, face stern. 

"Yes. That's right" I answered, not breaking my stare. 

"Well then." He looked to Lara once more who sat rigid, looking down at her work. 

"I'll see you around" he placed his disgusting hand on her shoulder. My teeth grit as I watched her smile weakly up at him. With that, he left. 

"Will you go to the Hogsmeade weekend with me?" I laughed awkwardly, realising I'd never asked.

She laughed lightly, butterflies stirred inside. 

"Yes" she smiled, her dimples marking her pale face. 

"Now. Back to work" she turned to the work that I completely forgot sat in front of me.

I groaned and slammed my forehead into the table. 

Students flooded into the quidditch pitch donning red or green painted faces, with scarfs wrapped tightly around their necks in the cold September air. 

Among these were Kieran, Ella and Lara.

"Remind me, why are you wearing Gryffindor colours Ella? You do know you're in slytherin right?" Kieran looked past Lara to a shivering Ella.

"Yes well, Marcus Flint is on our team." She said sourly, digging her face into her scarf in a last attempt of warmth. 

"Fair enough" Kieran smiled. Putting his arm round Lara's shoulder.

"Excited to see Oliver play today?" He poked Lara's ribs.

Swatting his hand away, she looked up at him, eyes thinning in suspicion. 

"I don't know what you're talking about" she speaks through chattered teeth. 

Ella scoffed, grabbing her attention away from the tall ginger. 

"Come on, you guys flirt all the time!" She pushed Lara's shoulder playfully.

Lara blushed at the thought of this. Did we? 

"Yeah. And we see the way he looks at you" Kieran adds, also adding to her confusion. 

What way does he look at me? 

"I'm here to see everyone, okay? And flirting doesn't actually mean anything" Lara pushed his arm off of her and put it back to his side.

"Sure jan" Ella dismissed, linking her arm with Lara as they continued down the stone path that led to the quidditch pitch.

The three made random conversations on the way, about anything and everything. Lara took notice of the subtle flirting going on between the Ravenclaw and Slytherin and silently tutted at the hypocrisy. 

"Excuse me" a little voice called from behind the three. Simultaneously they all turned round to meet the small gaze of a little girl. She wore Gryffindor robes, and held a book tight in between her hands. Her hair was light brown and went in all sorts of directions in the blowing wind. 

"Us?" Ella questioned.

"No. Just her." She said with a matter a fact, before pointing to Lara.

"You guys go on" The blonde spoke to her two best friends. They nodded back and left to enter the quidditch pitch stands.

"What can I do for you..." 

"Hermione. Hermione Granger" 

Lara gave a curt nod at her surprising confidence for a year one and stifled a giggle.

"What can I do for you Hermione Granger?" 

"I've needed a potions book from out of the library for quite some time. And it's been checked out in your name for weeks." 

"Oh, I'm sorry!" Lara started. "I've been tutoring potions and using that book, I must have forgotten to check it back in." Hermione nodded in understanding, a look of disappointment washed over her face.

"Tell you what. If you come down the the library tomorrow at about 9am, I'll be there tutoring and I'll give you the book. How does that sound?" 

The little girl nodded swiftly and grinned from ear to ear, before turning on her heels and skipping into the pitch. Lara followed soon after, being carried by a massive wave of students. 

"Lara!" Angelina shouted suddenly appearing beside her, dressed in a full red quidditch uniform.

"Ange? Shouldn't you be getting ready?" Lara laughed as Angelina pulled her out of the vast crowd and into a small empty corner under the stands. Lara's laugh halted when she read Angelina's furrowed eyebrows and wild, watering eyes.

"It's Oliver- do you know where he is? We- we can't find him and if we don't have him we-we can't play-" she rambled, stumbling over her words in utter panic. 

"Calm down, Ange. I'll help you find him, Okay?" She put her hands on her shoulders to calm the girl down. The girl only nodded and left with pace. 

Lara was left on her own, by now the crowd had filled the stadium entirely and were roaring up above. 

Lara's POV

I had an idea of where he could be, but I was sure that the Gryffindor would've checked there already. I thought back to last year, just before Ravenclaw won the house cup, when I bumped into Oliver striding out of the locker rooms with red puffy eyes. 

I mean, that's the only place I could guess he would be. 

With that, I picked up my feet and went straight to the changing rooms. 

Once there, I stood at the doorway and scanned the room. I saw nothing, But I heard something. Something small, but it was there. 

Small, muffled sobs echoed in the desolate room. 

"Oliver?" I spoke out. 

The sound stopped.

"Oliver are you in here?" I let out once more, steeping further into the room. 

"Here" a small voice croaked some time later. 

My glare snapped to the noise coming from behind a curtain in the far end of the room. I reached up to grab the beige material and drew it back, revealing another portion of the room, but this part had no benches in it and was dimly lit. 

There sat Oliver, his back up against the wall and head on his knees. He looked... vulnerable. Like I had never seen him before. My heart pranged at his hurt. Rushing over to him I instantly placed a hand on his shoulder. An attempt at comfort.

"Oliver it's okay" I tried to console. For a while he stayed with his forehead resting on his knees, his body lightly shaking. 

"How long have I got?" He pushed his head up, blinking away tears. 

Looking to my watch I answered.

"10 minutes" I informed, rubbing his shoulder. 

His body shook a little under my touch, I think. 

His lips tilted into a ghost of a smile as he scoffed, shaking his head.

"I'm sure I look pathetic right now" he looked to me, defeat in his eyes.

I quickly shook my head.

"No of course not, Oliver" 

He hummed as if to say 'I don't believe you but okay' and perched his head against the wall behind him.

"I can't help it. I just get nervous before games. I mean, once I'm out there I'm absolutely fine but I guess the anticipation gets to me and I feel-" he began to get worked up, tears threatening to spill again. 

"You don't have to explain yourself" I shook my head and dragged my arm from his shoulder to sit beside him. 

My shoulder brushed his as I went down, causing my breath to hitch slightly.

It's just a shoulder. Lara, get a grip. 

I heard him take a shaky breath before turning to me. I kept my eyes forward in fear that the close proximity would only make me more nervous, and therefore I would have to address this small crush on him.

"Lara" he said, it only came out a whisper.

"Hm?" I whispered too, I felt as if the situation was too intimate to speak properly. I felt as if he hadn't cried in front of many before.

"Tell me about yourself" he whispered again.

"There's not much to know" I shrugged

"Try" he laughed. "For me?" 

"For you?" 

"Yes for me" he laughed again. 

"Okay, Hotshot, just for you" I giggled. 

"I'm terrible at quidditch." I said after a while.

"I'm sure that's not true" he looked to me in my peripheral vision his voice gaining volume.

"It is! The last time I went on a broom I fell 10 feet and broke my arm!" I said convincingly, a full laugh escaping his lips.

I turned to him fully now and admired how he looked under the dim lighting of the petite room. He looked to me too, his laugh dissipating but his smirk remained strong. 

"You're making fun of me" I pouted. 

"A little bit" he held his thumb and finger up, making a pinching gesture. 

It was happening again. That feeling I got when he looked at me, the way the world stopped. The sound of the clocks ticking or the crowds screams above were drowned out by his honey brown eyes that stared into mine.

Before I knew it, he was looking down at my lips and I was looking down at his. As he began to lean in my breath hitched and my heart skipped a beat. 

This is what I want, no more denying to myself. I may not know this boy like the back of my hand, but I want too. And I may have only been friends with him for a short while, but the feeling that erupted in my stomach when he laughed and tease was unmissable and I had never felt it before. 

And I was about to lean in too. 

"THERE YOU ARE!" Angelina cried, ripping aside the curtains and storming into the room. 

I immediately jumped up and away from him, brushing myself off. 

I noticed the furious face of angelina and tried to break for it straight away. But I didn't leave before turning back to a bright red Oliver who sat with his eyes wide open.

"Good luck" I smiled. 

"With angelina or the game?" He breathed out.

"Both" and with that I left him to his doom. 

"Harry Potter has caught the golden snitch! Gryffindor has won the game!" The commentator screamed into the speakers. 

Half the crowd erupted into manic cheers for the red team, jumping up and down on the stands. Slytherin S sneered from across the pitch. 

"I knew it! I knew it! I knew it!" Ella screamed.

"You said slytherin would win five minutes ago" Kieran pointed out and pushed her accusingly. 

"Oh shutup" she pushed him off. The grin not wiped from my beautiful best friends face. 

I tore my attention from them and looked into the blue sky where the red dots zoomed around the pitch.

Oliver was at the hoops smiling down at me. I held up to thumbs up and couldn't help but beam from ear to ear. My smile fell slightly when he winked, my heart couldn't keep up and my cheeks grew a rosy pink.

"I saw that!" Ella shoved me, pointing at my red cheeks.

"It's the cold!" 

"'It's the cold' my ass" She mocked.

I rolled my eyes and stood on my tiptoes to see the ground below, where the quidditch team surrounded Potter.

"So that was their secret weapon" I muttered under my breath. 

Harry Potter was just like his father, after all.


	9. PARTY

"You did WHAT?" Ella screeches, mouth hung wide open, attracting unwanted attention from other Ravenclaw students. 

We were currently sitting in the Ravenclaw common room and Ella had demanded to know why I took so long to get to the stands.

I shushed the girl, placing my hand over her mouth. If anyone heard I knew it would be the new gossip of the month.

"Come with me" I ushered her, pushing against her back to direct her up the the stone stairs and into my dorm. 

Once in there we saw Yasmin who was packing up a bag of clothes and makeup.

"Hi Lara! Ella! I was just going over to the Hufflepuff dorm to get ready with Fiona" she smiles and nods at us before picking up the bag and walking towards the door.

"So you nearly kissed?" Ella turns to me, breaking her silence.

"Never mind" Yasmin turns straight back and walks up to me. "Fiona can wait. Who did you nearly kiss?!" 

"Um I-" I stuttered, not wanting to make it big news.

And it wasn't. I mean, we didn't even kiss and when Angelica came in he went so red with embarrassment. I'm sure he was probably just caught up in the moment.

"Oliver Wood" Ella squealed, gleaming with joy. 

I watched as Yasmins jaw dropped. Her face grew into a large grin with big wide eyes. 

"For Rowena's sake! Why didn't you?" She buzzed, guiding me over to sit on my bed. 

I did and the two frantic girls sat either side of me. Waiting eagerly for me to say something to fuel their fangirling fire.

"Angelica walked in." I shrugged, a little disappointed at the thought of what could've happened.

"So you do like him!" Ella shook me excitedly, I only winced at her loudness. 

"Called it" she whispered to Yasmin behind my back, who I saw nod in understanding. 

"Yes. I think I do" I pressed my lips together, thinking of what to say.

"But I've only known him what? Three weeks? I hardly know him. Whenever we spend time together it's either tutoring or at breakfast" I sighed, laying my back on my bed and covering my flushed face with my hands. 

"What does that matter? It's just a crush! You're not asking him to marry you or anything" Ella cooed, taking my hands from my face and using them to pull me back up again.

"I just don't know if he likes me back" I said simply.

"You- fucking hell- Lara! He went in to kiss you for Rowena's sake!" Ella said frustrated.

"What about that says 'I don't like you'?" Yasmin continued.

I looked up to the two who were smiling back at me. 

"Stop smiling. It's creeping me out" I complained at the two gleaming faces in front of me. 

I looked around at something to help me change the subject and my eyes landed on the makeup bag in Yasmin's hand.

"What are you getting ready for yaz?" I screwed my eyebrows together.

"Oh! Since Gryffindor won they are having a common room party! Fun right?" She explained before adding that I should go because Oliver would be there. 

"Hm. A party sounds nice" I said lightly, thinking of all the reasons I shouldn't go. I'd done all my homework, had no letters to write and had a free morning tomorrow. 

"I have no reason not to go" I shrugged.

"Brilliant!" The two girls chorused simultaneously before pulling me to the bathroom to do my makeup. 

The stench of sweat and alcohol invading my nose and stung my senses as soon as I stepped through the fat lady painting. I was suddenly met with the booming music that became the foundation for hundreds of peoples conversations. It was packed to say the least.

I pulled at the ends of my silk black body-con dress nervously before follow Ella into the crowd. 

She had immediately spotted the twins and dragged me towards them.

"Ladies!" They harmonised.

"Well don't you brush up nice!" Fred wraps his arm over my shoulder and pulls me in tight, his wide smile pointed down at my small figure. 

"Who do we have here?" George spoke out, aimed at a gorgeous Ella who wore her hair natural so that it was in super tight curls, and her dress was a gorgeous dark green. 

"Tell me I look stunning, Mr Weasley" She sighed dramatically before giving him a little spin. He of course did and the two turned back round to face us. 

"So girls!" Fred shouted over the music. "What are your plans for tonight?!" He continued.

"To get shit faced!" Ella hollered, already scanning the crows for alcohol. I simply rolled my eyes and turned to Fred. 

"Not me" I laughed.

"It's a Friday, Lara! Let loose" he beamed, taking his arm off me to do a weird little sway to the music. I simply shook my head and laughed anyway.

"Maybe" I agreed, and that was enough for him to rush over to the drinks table and hand me and Ella a fire whiskey. 

"Hey Ella! Where's Kieran?" George shouted in her ear.

"He's not a party person!" She explained before taking the shot, her face wrinkling up into disgust. 

I did the same, feeling the burning alcohol run down my throat and set fire to my insides, but at the same time I could already feel it's effect. 

"Where are the others?" I asked, looking around for the quidditch team. 

The twins shrugged together before giving me another shot.

The night went past in a hazy blur. I remember dancing. I remember drinking. I don't remember seeing Oliver, but I do remember seeing Isaac. 

Now, as I stumbled back to my common room alone I felt an overwhelming headache forming and my eyes begin to shut. 

Oliver's POV

Lara waltzed into the common room in a skin tight black dress, with her platinum hair curled loosely. she had a little bit of makeup on, which she didn't need. She looked beautiful. 

I thought back to earlier, of what what could have been. I did want to kiss her then, badly. I've been hardcore crushing on this girl since I first met her. But now was different, With the way she looked tonight I needed to kiss her. I needed to be with her. 

I watched intently from across the room with a drink sat in my hand, untouched. 

She began talking to Fred and George and before I knew it she was stumbling to the dance floor and partying like no one else was their. She jumped up and down, her hair flipping in all directions and the prettiest of smiles on her face.

"Amazing tits right?" Marcus Flint spoke from beside me, ogling the girl in my eyeline. 

"Shove off, Flint. Have a bit of respect" I pushed the troll away who only seethed and began chatting up girls elsewhere.

When I turned back to the dance floor, Lara was gone. My head whipped around the room, searching for that white head of hair. 

As soon as I found it, I wish I didn't. 

There she was being lead up the stairs by Isaac Smith, laughing and giggling away. 

I felt jealousy erupt like fireworks inside of me. All my fears were confirmed, she doesn't like me back and earlier she wasn't leaning in to kiss me. I should've known when she jumped away from me at the first sign of distraction. I felt my jaw clench and fits curl tighter around my drink. 

"Hey Oliver" a small voice cooed from beside me. I looked over and saw Kat Ingram, a fifth year Hufflepuff in a tight red dress leaving little to the imagination. I followed her hand with my eyes as it made my way to my chest and trailed to my neck, sending absolutely no chills down my spine. 

She looked up at me under her thick fake lashes and bit her glossed lip. Gross. 

I turned back to where Lara had left with Isaac and the anger that still lingered took over. 

Before I knew it, my lips had locked with Kat's. She kissed back almost immediately, violently thrashing her tongue into my mouth and letting out a small moan. My hands landed on her waist in attempt to keep her still, but that only prompted her to pull me closer, wrapping her arms around my neck. I cringed at what I was doing almost straight away. My mind flying faster than the golden snitch in attempt to straighten out my morals. 

I broke the kiss as soon as I realised what was really important.

Lara was alone with Isaac Smith. That was not good. 

"Erm- I have to go" I stated quickly to the Hufflepuff who only giggled annoyingly and waved. 

I dodged through barricades of drunk people to get to the stairway that he had led her up. Finally reaching it, my hands traced against the walls as I rushed up as fast as I could.

Once I reached the entrance, I found Isaac kissing a girl, who wasn't Lara. At my entrance they broke apart for a second to look at me. Isaacs face screwed up in disdain. 

"What do you want, Wood?" 

"Where's Lara?" I breathed out.

"I don't know, she left pretty quickly. The girls got no taste" he kissed his teeth and rolls his eyes before turning back to the girl in front of him. 

All I felt now was guilt. Complete guilt. I wasn't with Lara, but I still felt as though I owed it to her to not kiss anyone tonight, especially after our weeks of flirting and near first kiss earlier. My shoulders sunk as I trudged back downstairs.

I once again entered the booming room, people making out all around me caused a small groan to escape my mouth. 

I saw Fred's ginger hair almost as soon as I scanned the room. He was snogging with some girl but that wouldn't stop me from asking if he'd seen Lara. I was worried for her, I knew she was drunk and I let her go out of my sight. 

I pushed back the thoughts of self hatred and strided over to the twin. 

"Fred! Have you seen Lara?" he pulled away almost instantly from the raven haired girl, who turned out to be Alicia. My eyes furrowed in confusion. 

"Errr- hi Alicia" 

"Hi" she blushed, tucking her hair behind her ears 

"We'll discuss this later" I said to Fred, motioning over to Alicia who only blushed more.

"So? Lara?" I asked again.

"I think I saw her leave, but I'm a little tipsy mate" he excused with a little hiccup. 

"Thanks mate, bye Alicia, have fun" I nodded.

I rushed out towards the exit and went to the only place I could guess she would go. The ravenclaw common room. 

"Lumos" I whispered, bringing my wand up to my face to help whose the way to the Ravenclaw common room. 

I walked up the ravenclaw entrance and waited for a riddle I hoped I could solve. 

"Don't try it. It's impossible!" A voice giggled frantically near the painting. I turned around towards the noise and pointed my wand further from my body. 

There curled up on the floor was Lara. 

"Lara?" I whispered. "What are you doing out here?" I hurried over to her. He makeup was smudged a little bit but she looked okay, she looked safe.

"The question is" she hiccuped "what are you doing here!?" She grabbed my shoulders and pulled my towards her, I was now leaning down next to her.

I shushed her but she only giggled more and mimicked my shushing. I stifled a laugh at her state before getting up and facing the common room entrance.

"I may be quite dreadful  
but I can be of great help  
especially if wands cant help much  
but I can gift u a hard time!  
Sometimes u can't help but try me  
and after a while I can make u glad  
I've been blamed for some one's condition  
Though it was more of a joke than truth" 

To be honest, I hadn't the faintest clue what it was talking about. 

"Uhhhh" 

"See! It's impossible! I don't know how Ravenclaw do it all the time!" 

I sighed and looked back at her laughing form.

"Lass, you are a Ravenclaw" I smiled.

Her jaw dropped, eyes widening. 

"I'm a what?!" She stood up abruptly, but as soon as she did she begin to sway and trip over her own feet. Just before she fell over again I caught her elbows in my hands. 

"Can I tell you a secret" she looked up at me with her big blue eyes that made my heart melt. 

"Yes Lara, what is your secret?" I wrap my hand around her waist and begin walking her down the hallway. She held onto me with her little hands.I ignored the way it made me feel.

"I'm a little drunk" she whispered. 

"A little?" I laughed.

"A little" she mimicked my Scottish accent, causing my smile to grow wider at the girl. 

"I love Scottish accents" she stated.

"You do?" 

"I love your voice" she briskly declared. 

She hummed in response, closing her eyes and letting my lead the way.

"Where are-" she hiccuped. "Where are we going?" She tilted her head up to me.

"My dorm. You can't sleep on the cold stone floor all night" I stated.

"Who says I can't?" She stopped walking, offending and holding her heart.

"Me." 

"Oh" she giggled before letting me take her waist again and lead her up the stairs.

"I'll go to your dorm with you, Oliver" 

I didn't answer but only tried to make most of the feeling of being so close to her.

"Only for you, hotshot" she winked up at me. 

But the ability to walk and wink at the same time was a little too much for the intoxicated Ravenclaw, 

"Oh ow!" She let out as she slipped from my grip and onto the harsh floor.

"Oh my- Lara are you okay?" 

"I think I tripped" she looked down at her grazed knee confused.

I suspired and glanced up at the massive stairway that led to the fat lady painting.

"Come on" I heaved, picking her up with one hand on her back and the other under her knees. She was as light as a feather. 

"Woah, you're a strong man" she patted my arms. "Muscular" she stated in a funny voice, only sending her into another fit of giggles. 

She continued to compliment me as I made my way through the painting, between snogging couples and up the stairs into my dorm. Percy was in his own bed, snoring lightly. 

I made sure to shush Lara as I placed her down on my bed. She squealed a little when she landed but soon became comfortable and made herself at home on my bed. 

The sight of her on my bed was entrancing and as she quickly fell into a quick sleep, I felt saddened by the fact I wasn't joining her.


	10. THE MORNING AFTER

I woke with a start, instantly regretting it because now the banging in my head was even more painful. I straightened up in my bed using my elbows to hoist me up. I rubbed my eyes to rid them of sleep and let out a tired yawn. Upon opening my eyes fully, I shot up straight away. 

"Where am I?" I murmured under my breath, eyes darting around the unknown room. 

"This isn't my bed" I breathed out. 

Panic stricken, I made sure every piece of clothing from last night was still on. Luckily, they were which caused sigh of relief to escape my lips. I crashed back onto the pillow on this bed, trying to process the events last night, and what led me to here. I couldn't remember anything. I was definitely in Gryffindor due to the red curtains lining the two beds in the room. 

"oh, you're awake!" A voice at the doorway caught me off guard. 

I shot up again, this time dragging the covers up to my shoulders as I stared at the scottish boy I've grown close to in the past month. He had a bright smile on his face and a cup of orange juice in his hands. I watched him closely as he walked over, placing the orange juice on the bedside table and then carefully situating himself at the edge of the bed. 

"How are you-"

I winced at how loud he was being, I could already feel my headache worsening. 

"Oh uh sorry" He had lowered his voice to a lower volume "How are you feeling?" He finally asked, worry peaking his features.

"I'm uh" I croaked out, my voice obviously feeling as shit as my head. 

He quickly leant over to the orange juice and placed it in my hands. I nodded a thankyou and didn't hesitate to down the glass. 

"thanks" I huffed, giving the empty glass back to him.

"What am I doing in here? We didn't... did we?" I trailed off.

"Oh Godric no! I would never! I mean, no that's not what I mean. You were drunk and neither of us could figure out the Ravenclaw password and so I took you here- uh-I slept on the sofa... downstairs" he sputtered out, stumbling over his words every few seconds.

Phew. I nodded in understanding and looked around the room, taking a deep breath in. 

"messy" I teased upon seeing the strewn out clothes that blanketed the floor. He laughed softly, I watched as his shoulders went up and down. 

"You're one to talk" he raised on eyebrow, looking me up and down. 

"shut it" I shook my head, smiling. 

We stayed like that for a bit, smiling at each other. 

"It smells like you in here" I observed. 

"Is that a good thing?" He asked. 

It was. He smelt like polish. Like the kind you put on a broomstick. It was rich in scent but it didn't invade the senses, it simply complimented the room. I offered a small to which he responded with a bright twinkling smile, as if he was proud of it.

After I thanked him for looking after me, he gave me some clothes from my dorm that he sent Kieran to go get. I was surprised at how nurturing and caring he was, and found myself wondering if he would do this for anyone else but me. He left the room so that I could change into some dark blue joggers and a red Puddlemere United jumper. I walked into their bathroom to assess the damage from last night and surprisingly it wasn't all terrible. My hair was knotted but my makeup was only smudged partially. I didn't look dead, which is a job well done in my opinion. 

I washed off my remaining makeup and found an unused hairbrush in the cabinet to brush the white mess that sat on my head. I pulled my hair into a half up ponytail before leaving the room and meeting with Oliver who was waiting in the messy common room that still stunk of alcohol. 

He stood up as soon as he saw me and I watched as is features grew shock-ridden at my jumper. 

"You like Puddlemere?!" He boomed. I felt like I'd just been hit by a car. but it was just Oliver's booming scottish accent.

"Still too loud, Oli. and yes I support Puddlemere" I stated, as he walked towards me and stopped about two feet away. 

"So do I! oh- uh-- sorry. So do I" he whispered the last bit, I could see he was buzzing on the subject of his favourite quidditch team, his dimples that indented his cheeks were more defined than I had ever seen them.

"I have a feeling you'd get on well with my cousin then" I giggled, before signalling him to the exit of the common room. 

I wouldn't tell him about Elijah yet, especially when I knew he would freak out and worsen my headache. But I would love to introduce him someday. 

We walked down to the great hall in a comfortable silence, I liked that we could have those. It was about lunch time on a Saturday afternoon and so not many people would be sitting down there, people usually stay in their common rooms on weekends.

As we walked in, I instantly spotted the twins and pulled Oliver by the arm over to them. I tried to hide the blush that was making it's way to my cheeks at the feeling of his muscles. 

"Hi guys" Oliver greeted, gesturing for me to sit down first. "Lara's got a little bit of a headache so be quiet. Okay?" He added, sitting down himself and finding a plate to load some food on. 

The twins nodded ferociously, with their signature wide grins plastered over their faces as they looked between us two. 

"nothing happened" I murmured, rolling my eyes. 

"What about you though, Olikins" George started, leaning his elbows on the table in front of him and placing his head in his hands. Oliver simply ignored him. I looked between the two in confusion. 

"I saw you getting pretty cosy with Miss Ingram of the Hufflepuff house last night" He laughed. 

Huh? Kat Ingram... with Oliver?

"You were?" I searched his face for answers but he only looked down at his food, refusing to meet my gaze. 

"Rumour has it, you snogged" George continued, being shoved in the side by Fred who had been watching my every move. 

"You did?" I asked again, hurt evident in my voice making it crack slightly.

I really thought he actually liked me. 

He remained silent and that was my answer. 

I shouldn't feel betrayed by this, we aren't going out. I don't even know the boy that well. 

I went over this in my head for what seemed like years, but was only a couple of seconds. 

"Look Lara I-" Oliver began to excuse. But why should he? I'm not going to be one of those girls who thinks they own a boy. 

"Why are you apologising? I don't care. You are at perfect liberty to kiss whoever you like" I said quickly, a sharpness in my tone. But that sharpness was just trying to smoke out the hurt. 

His face fell. 

"You know what" I stood up, smoothing out my jumper. 

"I'm not actually that hungry and I have homework to do so I best be going" I smiled awkwardly. I didn't want to be there, I felt utterly humiliated for having feelings for this boy. Letting myself fantasize over a relationship with him, when in reality I was always just a friend to him, just a tutor. 

He came out to talk again. 

"It's fine, Oliver, really. Uhm, she's a pretty girl" I nodded to him and the other two boys before briskly walking down the hall and out of the golden doors. 

I was dragged back by a cold hand on my arm, I whipped around immediately to be met with the small stature of Kat Ingram.

Ah, just who I wanted to see!

She looked up at me under fake lashes that looked as though they were hanging on with every inch of their plastic lives. 

"What were you doing talking to Oliver?" She scowled, her eyes darting to where they sat at the Gryffindor table, I followed her gaze to see Oliver already looking our way. 

"Uh- we are just fr-"

"Friends huh? Laura, is it?"

"Lara" I corrected, gritting my teeth.

"Laura. I don't know if you knew this but me and Oliver have a little thing going on" She smiled a fake smile, bearing her yellowing teeth.

"I didn't know, sorry" I tried to pull away but her grip only tightened, I winced down at my arm and stared at her as if she were crazy. 

"I'd appreciate if you didn't talk to him again, Laura" She cooed sweetly, digging her claws into my skin.

"Won't happen again. I assure you." I seethed, she let go and with that I darted out of the entrance and up the stairs to reach the Ravenclaw common room. 

I think she just turned my headache into a full blown head injury.


End file.
